Ebert: 'Jackass' Tweet Meant to Be True, Not Cruel

(Newser) – Roger Ebert shifted away from Twitter and took to a place where he could address the "Jackass" situation in more than 140 characters: his Chicago Sun-Times blog. There, the movie critic wrote, "I regret that my tweet about the event was considered cruel. It was not intended as cruel. It was intended as true." He goes on to explain that he wasn't calling Ryan Dunn a jackass, but was just referencing his connection to the show. "I thought that was clear." He lists various media reports that note Dunn had three light beers and three shots before getting behind the wheel.

"I was probably too quick to tweet," he ultimately admits. "That was unseemly." But "friends don't let friends drink and drive." In other Ebert-fallout news: His Facebook page was taken down this morning, "in response, apparently, to malicious complaints from one or two jerks,” Ebert tweeted. Ebert continued berating Facebook via Twitter: "Facebook! My page is harmless and an asset to you. Why did you remove it in response to anonymous jerks? Makes you look bad." It was reinstated within the hour, the Huffington Post reports. All the company had to say was that it was “removed in error.” Click for more on Ebert’s comments about Dunn.